Rise of Zionus Movie 1: When Robots Attack
by EternalSage
Summary: Starring characters from Rise of Zionus, they must face a dangerous new enemy. Two main characters meet again, for the first time. A side story that is non-continuous with the main tale.


Inside a nearly abandoned room in the Pioneer 2 archives, a small newman girl is concentrating intently as a group of three books hover in front of her. The books are dancing as if an invisible person is juggling them. Across the room, a man in a dark grey suit is lounging against the wall, gazing at his student. He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his forefinger, and then checks his watch.

_Hmm...a full minute and a half with no wobbling. She's really getting better at this. _

"Good job, Ayame! You can put the books down now." He watches as the group of books is slowly lowered to the desk in front of him, landing with a muffled thud. "Your control is improving. The books are hardly wobbling anymore. You've been doing your homework. I'm very proud of you." He smiles at her, and she beams back at him with a big grin.

"Thanks, Mr. Sage! I've been working at it all week. It's hard when I have to do it when no one is around, though."

"Yes, but its better to not show off special powers like this too often. People tend to get scared."

"But...I wouldn't hurt anyone with them. I promise! I want to help people with them." Ayame replies, brushing purple hair out of her eyes as she looks forlornly at Sage.

"I know that, and you know that. But a lot of people out there don't know that. What's worse is, they don't understand how you can do what you do. They fear what they don't understand, and are so afraid of it that they stop listening."

"But why?" Ayame asks, a puzzled look on her face.

"Well...let's see. Are you afraid of the dark?" Sage asks, walking over to the desk and picking up one of the books.

"No. But dogs are scary. They are big and loud and mean..." She says, turning to look at Sage.

"Ok. Look at it this way. Not every dog in the world is mean, right?"

"Well, no...the big fluffy dog at Rappy World was nice. But the little dog

that runs around our neighborhood is mean."

"Ok. So some dogs are mean, and that makes you think that all dogs are mean, right?"

"Yeah! And some people with powers like mine did bad stuff a long time ago. And since no one has really seen anyone with powers like mine do good stuff, they only think of the bad, and get scared. I get it now..." she says, comprehension dawning on her face.

"Exactly. Very good job. You ready to work on your telepathy ?" Sage asks, flipping to a random page in the book he's holding.

"Sure. I tried practicing this, but I think I was getting it wrong. Whenever I would try to read Uncle X's mind, all I would get was pictures of girls. That can't be all the thinks about, can it?" Ayame said.

"Hmm...well, we'll see if you were doing it right or not. Tell me what I'm reading, please. Remember...relax your body, and clear your mind of conscious thought. Reach out like you are trying to read over my shoulder..." Sage instructs her. He watches her close her eyes and relax, then feels an insistent pressure at the back of his mind.

As his eyes scan the page, he begins reading at a random paragraph. Ayame begins to read aloud the same things he is reading silently to himself. He continues for a paragraph, as she tracks him word-for-word. When he finishes, he sends a mental message to her.

_ " Excellent work, Ayame. You kept up perfectly."_

_"Yay! I'm getting better at it. It wasn't so hard to do this time, and the words weren't as fuzzy."_

Sage winces slightly, as Ayame's message was 'shouted' into his mind.

"You did well. The only things that still need work are your entry and withdrawal and your volume control. You have the basics down, now all you need to do is practice. At the rate you are improving, you might be able to teach me a thing or two soon. Now, one last thing..."

"Ooh, ooh! Can we play bean bag duel?" Ayame asks, a look of excitement on her face.

Sage smiles. "Yes, Ayame. We can play bean bag duel ." Reaching into a pocket of his suit jacket, he withdraws two small bean bags. Exerting a light telekinetic grip on them, he floats them into the air, steadying them as Ayame gets a telekinetic grip on her purple one. He grasps the blue one with his mental grip, then sends it towards Ayame.

She reacts by blocking with her bean bag, then bringing it around to send it flying towards Sage. He blocks with his own, then counters by sending his projectile hurtling at Ayame's face. She responds quickly, buffeting his out of its path with an upwards shot. The mental duel continues for a few moments, taxing both her telekinesis with control of the bean bag and her telepathy, with reading Sage's movements.

Ayame begins to spin her bean bag in a wild circle, then launches it at Sage with a bit more force. He smiles and erects a telepathic barrier that sends it flying towards the door just as it opens. He reacts to the presence entering the room and grabs the bag in mid-air, halting it inches from Leah's nose.

"Hello, Ms. Leah." Sage says to the visitor, bringing the bean bag back to him with a wave of his hand. Leah looks on, the look of astonishment she'd worn on her previous visits gone as she became more familiar with her niece's abilities.

"Hiya, Aunt Leah!"

"Hi. Almost done?" she asks, smiling as Ayame hurtles towards her, enveloping her flying niece in a hug as she reaches her.

"Yeah, we're done. Mr. Sage says I'm really improving." Ayame says, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"She'd been keeping up with her homework. I'm proud of her. She's made a lot of progress. At her age I was still smashing furniture whenever I got startled." Sage comments.

"Well, I'm glad for your help, Sage. I didn't know there were people that trained in stuff like this."

"It's a rather rare ability. I've only had a few other students, and none with nearly the level of ability that Ayame has. She's my star pupil."

Ayame's jubilation was interrupted by four pairs of metallic fists crashing through the wall. In the cloud of smoke that arose, four massive Sinow Berills crowded into the room, glowing with an eerie purple light. Sage reacted quickly, hurling a table at the lead Sinow with his telekinesis as Leah drew her sword. The Sinow intercepted his makeshift projectile in mid-air, splintering it with one blow of its massive fist. It responded by unleashing a Rafoie blast at him that impacted against a telekinetic shield. Sage strained to hold off the blast as the other Sinows prepared to fire.

"Ayame, get behind us!" Leah cried as she rushed at the lead Sinow, swinging her blade in a vicious arc. It sunk into the robot's armor, cleaving it effortlessly, but was soon consumed with a feathery black tendril of energy. A spark of black lightning jumped from the blade to Leah's body, making her convulse in agony as the force of the attack slammed her into the wall. Sage managed to catch her in mid-air, but as he was distracted one metal fist impacted with his side, crumpling him.

"Argh!" he wheezed as he fell to the ground. He was saved by Ayame sending a Barta wave at the Sinow that loomed over him. As her technique was cast, the other three Sinows lifted their heads, seeming to zoom in on her. They leaped at her, plowing past their frozen compatriot. She dodged one punch, but was grabbed by an enormous metallic fist.

b "Target acquired." /b the lead Sinow said in a flat metallic voice, as it broke free of its icy prison. With a swirl of black energy, the four machines disappeared with Ayame in tow. Sage gave in to the staggering pain in his side, slipping into unconsciousness. Leah lay still, her body still sparking with purple lightning every few seconds.

In an apartment on the other side of town, a slender Humar is lounging on a couch.

_I wonder what's taking the skank so long? She said she had to pick Ayame up from her lesson, then we were going to get dinner. Meh, I guess I'll have to go meet her there._

Reaching into a pocket of his jeans, he pulls out a PDA and begins lazily scrolling through his Guild Card list. Fixing on the coordinates of his roommate, he slowly gets to his feet. Stretching, he glances over at a mirror, brushing his hair back from his face and tying it up. Grabbing a denim jacket from off a nearby chair, he heads to his door.

As he is about to open it, he hears the faint chime of his doorbell. Opening it, he sees a small cat purring loudly and brushing up against the doorway.

"Ah, hi Keiko. I'm heading to go meet Leah and Ayame for dinner. Wanna come along?"

The cat at his feet transforms into a humanoid form. "Sure, why not? And aren't you forgetting something...?" She turns back into a cat, then rubs against his legs.

"Oh yeah, your birthday. Here ya go." He reaches for a small cloth bag on a table by the door. "Have some catnip..." he says, dropping the bag at his feet. To his surprise, Keiko yowls and backs away quickly before beginning to sneeze. She shakes her head, batting at her nose with her paws before sneezing again.

"Keiko? Don't tell me you're allergic to catnip..." X says, shaking his head in amusement as he begins to laugh softly. The humor of the moment is interrupted by Keiko leaping at his face and clawing him furiously, hissing all the while. He dodges, barely able to avoid the enraged cat. Her second pounce is preempted by a massive sneeze that knocks her onto her hind legs.

Keiko glares up at X, unable to transform back to her humanoid form until her immune system's reaction to the catnip dies down.

"X, you moron! I can't transform when I'm having a reac-achoo! A reaction lik-achoo!... Damn you. Let's go find Leah..."

The cat and the hunter leave his apartment, heading towards the Pioneer archives.

Elsewhere, the four Sinows warp in with Ayame in tow, who is struggling futilely in one robot's iron grip. They appear inside a large abandoned facility near Gal Da Val Island, where numerous robotic sentries roam about. They take their struggling prisoner to a control room where a black and grey-plated Racaseal stands by a monitor.

"Excellent. The conduit has arrived, and now the master will be reborn! Teehee..." the Racaseal says in a deceptively innocent, high-pitched voice. "Take her to the control room, and attach her to the machine." The Sinows comply, taking Ayame to a side room and attaching her to a strange apparatus that seems to drain energy from her.

A Hucast with blue armor plating strides up from the shadows. "So...when are we going to flip the switch, and have our brethren kill those damnable fleshbags?" Blue asks, turning to his companion.

"Oh, we can do that now if you like, sir Azure Knight. I just wanted to ensure the conduit was captured." The Racaseal pulses briefly for a second with black energy, then all the machinery around the room glows with the same energy. At various places around Pioneer 2, androids, computers and other machines begin to go haywire as their programming is corrupted by a computer virus derivative of the infamous D-Cells, beamed into their systems from Pioneer 2's database.

The Racaseal's frazzled logic circuits recall two weeks earlier when her systems had kicked back online after her seeming death. She had been found by an excavation team that was exploring the ruins. They unearthed her battered figure, unaware of the viral hazard teeming within her. A few hours later, the team was killed by "malfunctions" of their excavation machinery as the D-cell virus diffused through their systems.

As time passed, the D-Cells took over more and more of her body, drawing dark energy to her. Eventually, she was able to infect machines with her D-Cell virus simply by irradiating them with energy. Dark, seemingly organic material infused itself with her frame, greatly increasing her powers.

As her power grew, what was left of her logic circuits decayed, driving her to the android equivalent of bat guano insane. All she knew at the moment was that the master wanted a new body, and hers was not sufficient for his purpose. Therefore, the girl was needed...

X and Keiko approach the Pioneer archives, slowly threading their way through the streets.

"X, is something odd to you? All the automated traffic signals are going haywire." Keiko asks, trotting behind X.

"Yeah, and it seems like a lot of the machines are acting strangely as well." As X says this, he is nearly crushed by a delivery vehicle that careens into the wall next to him. He manages to dodge at the last second, scooping up Keiko and leaping away.

"Ok...that was odd. Let's go find Leah and Ayame." X says. The two rush towards the archives, coming across a large hole in the wall.

"I don't think that's supposed to be there. Let's check it out." They step inside, observing complete chaos inside the building. Lights are flickering on and off, automatic doors are opening and shutting rapidly, and the research terminals display only garbled images and complete gibberish. X heads toward the back of the main room, where a larger hole has been pounded into the wall.

Rushing over to it, he sees the limp figures of Leah and a man in a suit. Keiko follows, running behind him as quickly as she can.

"Leah, you ok? Come on, speak to me..." Withdrawing a Moon Atomizer from his pocket, he breaks the capsule over his roommate. Her eyes open slowly, and she blinks up at him.

"Uh...X? They took Ayame. Sinows..." Leah manages, barely able to talk.

"Sinows...? What the hell?" X asks, shaking Leah gently. On the other side of the room, Sage is awakened by Keiko's insistent swatting at the side of his head.

"Unhhh..." he groans, slowly sitting up.

"Hey who are you? And what happened here?" X asks, cradling Leah as he turns to Sage.

"I'm Sage, Ayame's teacher. Some Sinows came, super strong ones. We weren't able to stop them..." he gasps, before dissolving in a fit of coughing. He steadies himself on the ground as he coughs up a small amount of blood. Breathing is agony for him, as at least four of his ribs are broken.

"Gah...can you walk? We need to get you to a Medical Center..." X replies, standing and lifting the semi-conscious Leah.

"I...believe so. Do you have a Trifluid on you?" Sage wheezes, doubling over as another spasm of coughing hits him. He braces himself on the wall with one hand as X tosses him a capsule.

"Here you go." X replies, as Sage uses the Trifluid. X is suprised as a healing wave of energy flows over him. He turns from Leah to see Sage finish casting Resta.

"Ah, that's better." Sage replies, standing up straighter as the Resta heals his broken ribs.

"You know Resta...? What kind of teacher are you, anyway?" X asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm a retired Force. I've been teaching Ayame how to control her powers." Sage replies, walking over to X.

"O...k. Well, can you help Leah?" X asks, cradling his delirious roommate in his arms as Keiko looks on.

Four attempted Reversers, a Resta and an Anti casting later, and Leah was still motionless.

"Her system seems to be in shock. It can probably be overcome by her getting some rest. I'm more worried about Ayame...I can no longer detect her through our psychic link. She was captured by the Sinows. I know where they have taken her, but... I can't communicate with her any longer."

"Ok then. We'll drop Leah at the Medical Center, then go get Ayame." X leaves the archives, carrying Leah as Sage and Keiko follow along.  
Inside the medical center, chaos ensues. People flood the facility, injured by the malfunctioning androids all over the ship. After ten minutes of tense waiting, a nurse finally makes it over to Leah and the nearly frantic X. A cursory examination leads to her being taken back before the mildly injured, as nurses gather the patients in triage.

X is pacing up and down the hall, a look of extreme distress on his face. Sage leans against the wall, resting as Keiko curls around his legs.

"Hey...think they can give me something for the allergic reaction, X?" Keiko meows.

"I'm not sure. We need to try and find Ayame as soon as we find out what's wrong with Leah. Hey, teacher-guy..." X states, turning to Sage.

"My name is Jonas Sage. You can call me Sage." Sage replies. shifting his weight on the wall.

"Ok, Sage. You said you were a retired Force...how long have you been retired?"

"About...a year and a half. I'm probably a bit rusty, but I haven't lost all of it."

"Good. I'm going to go after Ayame. You said you could track her, right?"

"Faintly, but yes. I think as we get closer it will be easier to track her. But I would suggest...you not go after her in the state you are in. Wait until Ms. Leah's situation is resolved. You'd be a mess in combat at this point. At the moment, she is still unconscious. She doesn't seem to be harmed, and I'm having trouble getting a fix on her exact location because she is moving around a lot. We should wait until she stops moving, then go there. I can track her until then."

"How, exactly? And what are you teaching her...?" X asks, giving up on being able to barge into the examination room. He wills himself to relax, leaning against the wall.

"I'm psychic. So is Ayame, to a certain degree. It encompasses limited precognition, telepathy and telekinesis. I'm teaching her how to harness and control her powers."

"Telewhatsit?" X asks, a baffled look on his face.

Sage smiles slightly. "I'm not suprised you haven't heard of it. It's an incredibly rare gift. It's a set of various, somewhat interconnected abilities. It allows me to communicate mind-to-mind, read minds, move objects with my mind, stuff like that. In my career as a Force I used it to enhance my attacks, create telekinetic barriers, communicate with my teammates and read my opponent's moves before they made them. It was...useful."

"Sounds neat." Keiko said from the floor.

"Heh, yes. It took me a long time to learn to control it, and I'm still not too fond of using it that much. People fear it..." Sage said, a downcast expression on his face.

"Can you give me an example?" X asks, still a bit puzzled. "I don't see how you could read my mind...I'm too strong willed."

"Alright. At this very moment..." Sage replies, his gaze going slightly out-of-focus, " you are thinking of how much your roommate means to you, how worried you are about her..."

"Yeah, right." X scoffs.

"And how much of a return you can get on the pink silk nightie you bought her the other day, as you greatly prefer the skimpier red one." Sage replies, his gaze coming back into focus.

"Sounds like X alright." Keiko responds, hissing at X as he glares at her.

"That was...odd. But pretty accurate. I can see how people would be scared of it."

"I don't abuse it. The only reason I read your mind is because you asked. The only other time I would ever do it is if someone's life depended on it." Sage replies, frowning.

"Hmm...so what about the other stuff? How heavy is too heavy to lift? I'm pretty sure you couldn't lift Keiko, for instance. She's way too heavy...what about a Delbiter?" X laughs, dodging a furious swipe from the enraged Keiko.

Sage replies by extending one hand, palm outward towards a chair placed down the hall. He checks to make sure no one is around to see, then with only a slight furrowing of his brow lifts it into the air with his telekinesis. He floats it over to the group, then lightly sets it down. He seats himself in it, relaxing as X and Keiko stare.

"Stuff like this, and bigger. The heavier the object or the more objects I have to lift, the more draining it is. It drains my mental energy, much like techniques."

"Cool. So, Ayame can do that...?" Keiko asks.

"She's learning. She has a lot of potential...she just needs to develop it." Sage answers. His further reply was interrupted by the arrival of the nurse who brought them back. Shutting down his telepathic awareness, he catches a stray thought from X about the nurse's low-cut top, and smiles to himself.

_Haha...he's just like I heard he would be. Ayame and Leah seem to trust him, and he is the most acclaimed hunter of this generation. Still...extra backup couldn't hurt._

"Mr. X? Your friend will be fine. She just needs some rest. I would suggest you take her home and let her sleep for about 24 hours. She took a shock to her system that completely drained her reserves."

"Ok, thanks!" X replies, briefly considering asking for the nurse's Guild Card. As Leah is wheeled out on a hoverchair, he decides against it.

"Hiya, skank. Feeling better?" He states, moving closer to her.

"I feel like hell. If I didn't feel like hell, I'd be going with you to go after Ayame. As it is...I can barely move."

"Well...guess I won't be needing the head start cards for a while..."

"Don't push your luck." Leah replies, glaring at him.

At Keiko's insistence, the nurse examines her. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until the allergic reaction fades. There is nothing we can do, and we are quite busy. Good day." The nurse turns and heads back to her other patients as X leads Leah's chair out. Sage and Keiko follow, Sage withdrawing his PDA. He is typing as they reach the nearby teleporter.

_Nova...I need some help here. Can you and the Dreamchasers meet me somewhere?_

_Sorry Sage. Kiara's on a training mission on Ragol, and the teleporters between them are cut off. Axios is sick with something, and bed-ridden. It's just me._

_Ok...well, can you meet me somewhere? My apartment, in say...twenty minutes? And bring the stuff I asked you to hold, please._

_All right. See you shortly. _

Luckily, the android's rampage had not hit this part of Pioneer 2, and the streets were relatively clear. They made it back to X's apartment easily, to find Neifirst lying injured on the doorstep. Leah gasped from her chair, as Keiko and Sage ran to the still, violet-haired newman woman.

"Are you alright?" Keiko purred, as Sage knelt to check her pulse. As his hand touched the side of her neck, her eyes shot open. She made a move to lunge for his throat, but her arm fell weakly. She blinked, recognizing Keiko, Leah and X.

"Damn...droids. Got in a lucky shot. I took out three of them."

"Aww...were you trying to warn me? How sweet." X smirks.

"Hardly, brat. I was hoping to have a party when the droids smashed you." Neifirst rasped. "Unnh..." Her head swims as she looks up at X, and she nearly passes out again. Sage cradles her head, his hands shining with the energy of a Resta. The healing energy flows into her, and she regains consciousness.

"You have a bad concussion. You need to get some rest. I've healed the injury, but your body needs time to recuperate." Sage says, helping her to sit up.

"Who the hell are you?" she asks.

"He's Ayame's teacher, a Force." Leah replies from her chair.

"Eh, whatever. I'll be fine." Neifirst says as she tries unsuccessfully to stand. She gives in as Sage helps her inside. "Alright...just this once."

"It's ok, Nei. You can stay here. I'm not exactly capable of moving around much either..." Leah said as they went inside. A loud crash outside is heard as X, Keiko and Sage rush to the door.

Two halves of a Sinow are smoldering on the pavement as a black and red Hucast stands above them, holding an enormous yellowish sword.

"Hello, X. Bit of a problem...' JiEin replies, as a surge of dark energy washes over him. He whirls around, swinging his sword in a vicious arc as X barely dodges.

"Ji...I thought you were done with trying to kill me." X says, surprised.

Static is heard, and the energy fades for a moment. "I am...something is affecting my programming. I'm going to have to shut myself down eventually for repairs." JiEin replies, bracing himself on the pavement with one hand as he holds the Ji-Sword with his other.

Elly runs up, gasping for breath. "X! JiEin and most of the other androids on the ship are malfunctioning. The lab needs you to see what's the cause of all this."

"Right. Figures. Well...thanks for the info, skank." X smirks.

Elly ignores him, staring at Sage for a moment. "Jonas! How are you?" Elly asks. Sage looks distinctly uncomfortable for a moment, then replies.

"I'm fine. My student Ayame was captured by the malfunctioning droids."

"Oh, well...I'm sure with both you and X on this, it'll be fixed in no time. X, can I take Ji to your apartment to work on him?"

"Sure...why not. Everyone else is crashing there anyway... Just have him make some noodles when he gets done. I'm starving." X lets Elly inside, and between them, Sage and Keiko they get Neifirst and Leah settled. JiEin puts himself on standby mode, and Elly activates the external blocks on his movement to prevent a malfunction.

"X, I'll take care of them. Go see what the problem is. The lab is officially hiring you for this. You too, Sage."

"Joy. Well...I need to get my equipment from my apartment." Sage replies, as X walks over to the wall safe and removes his katanas and a silvery blue scarf.

"Ok. I've got my stuff, so we can go straight from there. Elly, don't skankify my apartment, ok? With Nei, you and Leah here..."

"You'll probably be fantasizing about it the entire time we're gone." Keiko snarls.

"Wait...we? You can't fight like that." X says.

"I can keep you out of trouble. And as soon as this reaction wears off, I'll be fine. Besides, with Varaha sealing your powers, you'll need me."

X reluctantly agrees, seeing there is no real way to stop her from following. The three hunters depart for Sage's apartment.

Ten minutes later, they arrive, and Sage leads them inside. It is rather cluttered, strewn with artwork, books and various knick-knacks. Sage goes to a bedroom and returns moments later in a grey tunic with dark blue pants. He puts on a dark blue, sparkling vest that seemed to be made from the same material as X's scarf.

"Sacred Cloth, huh? Good choice." X replies.

"Yes, it's come in handy before." Sage says as he pulls on his modified Fomar robe. It has the full sleeves, but instead of the bottom wrapping around fully, the front is cut out, hanging like a loose jacket. He puts on soft black boots, then attaches several units to the vest.

He clips the bright red God/Battle to his vest, arranging it beside the Cure/Units, then buttons the top of the robe over his tunic. He puts on a black belt laden with capsule pockets, then removes a Red Handgun from one capsule and checks the charge. Replacing the weapon, he ties up his reddish blond hair in a loose ponytail and adjusts his glasses.

"Alright...as soon as Nova gets here, we can go." Sage says, striding over to a corner and removing a deactivated Striker from a stand against the corner. He hits the activation stud, checking the mechanism to see if it works, then collapses the metallic staff into a capsule and places it on his belt. As he finishes, the sound of gunfire rings out from the street below.

"I suppose that would be Nova." The three leave Sage's apartment, heading to the ground floor as a muffled explosion is heard.

Stepping out the front door, they see a tall, dark-haired man with the build of a Ranger. He is garbed in a black leather jacket, red shirt and jeans and is holding two smoking Yasminkov 9000s. The bullet-riddled remains of a Sinow lay in the street before him.

He holsters his guns and grins as Sage and X approach. "Hello, Sage. I was able to get some target practice in as I waited."

"That's good to hear. Nova...meet X and Keiko." Sage gestures, pointing to the hunter and the cat in turn.

"Oh, hello. Nice to meet you, X. And Keiko...aren't you that shapeshifter?" Nova asks, lightly kicking the remains of the Sinow at his feet.

"Yes, I am. I remember you now. You and your friends helped me on a hunt a while back..." Keiko replies, slinking over to Nova and rubbing against the back of his legs in greeting.

"Well. now that we're all acquainted...let's get going. We need to find Ayame." X says, anxious.

"All right. But first...Sage, this belongs to you." Nova says, withdrawing a red capsule from his jacket pocket. He hands it to Sage, accompanying it with a gunbelt. Sage straps it over his vest, then rebuttons his robe. He withdraws the Yasminkov 2000 from it's capsule, testing the sights against the husk of the Sinow.

"Thank you, Nova." Sage replies as he holsters his pistol.

"A Yasminkov...? I thought only rangers were cleared to use those..." X states.

"I passed the certification for it...I just don't use it that often. It was a gift from a friend."

"Ok. Well...you said you could track Ayame?"

"Yes. She's stopped moving, and is on Ragol. Let's hijack a transporter before they shut them down..."

The Ranger, the Hunter, the Force and the cat sprint to the nearest teleporter, warping down to the coordinates Sage provided.

They emerge near a large. seemingly abandoned factory. As they move away from the teleporter, an alarm sounds and the warp mechanism dies down.

"Well...there goes our escape route." Nova says, as they head through the dense greenery of the Jungle to the hulking metal building where Ayame is held captive.  
X takes the lead, with Nova, Sage and Keiko flanking him as the group treks through the jungle. Merillia, Zol Gibbons and various other denizens of the area fall to smoothly executed attacks.

As they come across a large clearing, a massive rock covered with greenery dominates the landscape. The rock is positioned to where a large majority of the sunlight is shining on it, and the small red forms of dormant Merillia dot the area.In the distance, the bulk of an enormous metallic building looms over the landscape. At the opposite end of the clearing, an energy field typical of the Gal Da Val Island security measures is currently active, preventing them from passing.

The group fans out, Merillia springing to life as the vibration of their footsteps trigger their hunting reaction. Keiko hides behind the group, hissing as the semi-sentient plants lumber forward. X greets the first with a lightning-fast swipe from his sheathed Orotiagito, cleaving it in half before it registers the damage. Venomous bodily fluid sprays from the creature as it dies, splashing X's suit as he backs away.

He turns to his next target as Nova opens fire on a leaping Zol Gibbon. Sage makes a slight movement with his hands, causing a red and blue glow to appear around the group. Their strength and defensive abilities surge with his casting of Shifta and Deband. He draws his Red Handgun, flicking his wrist as the blue glow of Zalure spreads to the enemies. He fires at a nearby plant, the powerful bolt decapitating the lumbering Merillia.

Nova holsters his Yasminkovs as a group of five Merillia pop from the ground. His Spread Needle materializes from thin air as he summons it from its capsule. The rapid-fire arc of deadly photonic needles quickly shreds the plants.

X is surrounded by five Meriltas, having moved away from the group to allow them a clear range of fire. He slashes at the approaching plants, taking two out with one attack. His third slash misses as his vision suddenly grows blurry. The plants, sensing his weakness, pounce on him, headbutting him viciously. He manages to block the first few hits, but the third staggers him as the poison ravages his body. He slumps to one knee, barely supporting himself with his katana.

Sage blasts a Merillia to slag, then sees X's peril. He rushes over, chanting an Anti technique. The cleansing white light flashes over X, purging his body of the poison. X regains his footing, then dashes past Sage to deflect a Megid from an Ul Gibbon. He repays the monkey by drawing Yasha and ending its life in a whirl of blades.

"Thanks for the help." Sage replies, finishing off the last of the carnivorous plants with Red Handgun fire.

"No problem. That poison seems to be a bit stronger than I remember."

The combined efforts of the hunters have cleared the area of all life but their own, but the field has still not deactivated. As the ponder the situation, Keiko leaps up onto the large rock to sun herself. It lets out a high-pitched squeal and begins to move, revealing itself as a Mericarol. Keiko hisses in frustration, leaping away as the plant detects movement and charges at Nova, swinging it's massive blades.

Nova reacts quickly, leaping aside and drawing his Yasminkovs as he tucks into a shoulder roll. He stands and opens fire, the bullets ripping into the massive plant. It turns and begins launching energy blasts at him, which he runs to dodge. Sage and X turn to rush the plant as Nova keeps it distracted. X begins gathering technique energy, charging his Orotiagito with flame as he runs toward the plant's exposed back. He leaps into the air, executing a Ryuenjin uppercut with his flaming blade that lops off one of the plants 'arms'.

Sage stands still, pulling out his Yasminkov handgun with his free hand. He points both guns at the reeling plant, then enhances his shots with his telekinesis and opens fire, the powered-up shots ripping through the main body of the plant, leaving a gaping hole as it dies.

Surveying the carnage, the group is momentarily surprised by the arrival of six cloaked Sinows, a faint black aura barely revealing their presence as they strike. Nova, X, Sage and Keiko scatter four different ways as the massive machines leap in their trademark two-handed punch.

Sage intercepts one mechanical horror's punch with a telekinetic barrier, staggering under the force from the blow. He quickly casts Jellen and Zalure on the group, the techniques seemingly having minimal effect. He backs away, guiding his shots to the robot's sensor bank in it's 'head'. A shot from his Red Handgun impacts with the armor plating, stripping away the thinner plating on the head. The Yasminkov shot that follows pierces through the circuitry, leaving the machine deaf, dumb and blind. It begins to swing wildly about as its partner leaps at Sage. The telekinetic barrier he brings up saves his life, but the impact of the blow knocks him to the ground. He hastily rolls away, dodging the next few strikes as he regains his footing. _That should've killed it. I boosted that shot as much as I could. These aren't normal Sinows..._

Nova freezes one of his attackers with a blast from his Frozen Shooter, but as he draws his Yasminkovs to finish it off he is knocked reeling by a powerful Rafoie from the other Spigell near him. He looks upward to see the impossible, as the Sinow he'd frozen had already regained its power of movement. He narrowly dodges its leaping smash, only to be caught by a punch from the other that deactivates his weapon, sending it back to its capsule. He casts a Rabarta technique and backs away, training his Yasminkov mechs and unleashing a barrage of gunfire to minimal effect.

Keiko is running frantically back and forth, narrowly dodging the attacks of the lumbering death machines. She darts into a crevice between two boulders, cursing under her breath all the while. "Stupid X...why'd he have to give me catnip. I could be trying out my new techniques..."

X faces off against the two Sinows that have herded him against the rock wall of the clearing. He leaps onto the arm of one as it punches at him, charging his blade with electricity as he stabs the Orotiagito into the side of the Sinow's head. His Raitonken temporarily shorts the machine out, causing it to slump to the ground as sparks fly over its body. He unleashes a leaping slash at the next Sinow, but is caught in midair and sent flying into the rock wall by a powerful punch. He rebounds off, the wind knocked out of him. As he gets to his feet, he is rewarded by the Sinow he stabbed overloading and exploding, sending shards of metal flying as it meets a fiery doom.  
X grins, easily sidestepping a leaping slash from the other Sinow. "Well, they don't like lightning..." he comments, as he waits for an opening to attack again.

Sage levitates a rock to shield him from the Sinow's punch, watching the boulder get smashed to powder. He turns to the Sinow that is blundering around, holstering his guns as he charges a Gizonde technique. A brilliant arc of lightning leaps from his hands to the Sinow, followed by five more as he overloads its circuitry with a furious assault. It explodes as its companion did.

Keiko concentrates with all her might, channeling as much technique energy as she can. She manages to make a small Zonde bolt appear, striking the Sinow that was looming over her hiding place. Luckily for her, it hits the machine in its head, shorting it out temporarily. It's deactivated body blocks the approach of its companion.

Nova casts a Gizonde, his relatively weak technique dissipating on the Sinow's plating. _Well, that didn't work. Perhaps pure energy will..._ Reaching into a container on his belt, he withdraws a special black capsule with bright red lettering on it that spells out "ARM". _I wish these weren't voice activated...it sounds so stupid. Oh well...for this much firepower, I'll put up with it._

"Phaser ARM!" he yells as a large black cannon materializes in his hands. A targeting screen pops out from the side as he trains it on the approaching Sinow. It's similar to a Photon Launcher, but has shiny black metallic plating and a longer barrel. The end of the weapon terminates in a smooth surface, with no apparent outlet for the energy.

He trains the weapon on the Sinow, fueling the weapon with technique energy as it synchronizes with his mind. He squeezes the trigger as an enormous blue beam shoots from the closed end of the weapon. A white halo emanates from the beam's origin as the shot streaks toward the Sinow, melting its armor plating in seconds. He holds the beam on it, vaporizing it utterly.

The other robot nearby leaps at him, but is suspended in mid-air by the beam, the force of it slowing its descent as its body is burned away. All that is left of the two Sinows are smoldering bits of charred metal when the attack ends.. Nova slumps as the weapon deactivates, all his technique energy used in fueling the weapon. He drops to one knee as the weapon disappears back into its capsule.

Elsewhere, the Racaseal's minions are strapping Ayame into a massive apparatus. She senses the defeat of her guards, and sends a wave of power to the two remaining Sinows. "They cannot be allowed to get here. Not until the resurrection is complete. Teehee...who would have thought they were so strong?"

X, stunned by the spectacle, is caught by surprise as the two remaining Sinows leap at him. They had stopped going after Keiko, and went to the nearest target instead as they were fueled with dark energy. He is slammed into the wall as the machines close in, pummelling him with a barrage of punches. He manages to block a few of the hits, but is soon overwhelmed. Clutching his chest, he cries out in agony and doubles over, straining to activate his conduit as the ever-present Varaha appears, sealing his powers. The transformation fails briefly, as Sage focuses all his telekinetic might on one of the attacking Sinows.

He manages to lift it into the air, then with a burst of strength rips off the armor plating on its chest as it struggles to break free of his grasp. The world around him spins as he exerts himself to his limit, the Sinow breaking free of his grasp and lumbering over to him. A quick Gizonde into its generator deactivates it, and it explodes not ten feet from him. He slumps to the ground as a black wave of energy surges outward from X.

Sage, Nova and Keiko look over as X rises into the air, held aloft by a single black wing as a black aura envelops him, the air around him crackling with unleashed power. He descends, sheathing his katanas. He holds out his Orotiagito, still sheathed, then rapidly draws it as he rushes towards the Sinow, propelled by the power of his conduit. _Imperfect form is draining, so I have to end this quickly. Let's try a new one..._

He holds the Agito's sheath in one hand, low to the ground, as he swings his blade in a perfect arc. It appears that he only impacts the Sinow once, yet the sound of multiple hits resounds through the clearing, each booming like a clap of thunder. Keiko cringes as her sensitive ears are overloaded.

"Raitonken: Gou!" X cries as he rises into the air, hovering perfectly still as he sheathes the blade. Withdrawing it, he unleashes a massive crescent of purple lightning that strikes with a brilliant flash. X descends to the ground as the Sinow's corpse smolders, his conduit deactivating as a massive static charge rips through the clearing. The humans' hair stands on end, and Keiko resembles a fuzzy ball when she rushes from her hiding spot to attack X.

"X...first the catnip, now this! You ruined my fur!" she says as she swipes at his face viciously. A few moments and several Trifluds later, and the group continues through the deactivated security field.

They come to the large building, and are confronted by three Sinow Blues and a Sinow Red as they approach. These are weaker than the Spigells and Berills, and are dispatched rather quickly. As they approach the massive main door, they are halted by a series of alarms going off.

Inside the complex, Ayame is hooked up to a machine, and faint purple energy is being channeled into her. Her eyes are closed and her breathing is shallow. The restraints hold her suspended in the middle of a large metallic ring, as behind her a large arcane ring begins to glow with a faint purple light. The Racaseal walks to the corner of the massive chamber, checking the security monitors.

"Sir Azure Knight...could you go and deal with them? I have some business to attend to here."

"Fine. I'm glad I can finally eliminate these worthless sacks of rotting flesh."

Blue turns and leaves as the Racaseal activates a control. On the camera, the main door can be seen opening. "I'll have to split them up. They are far too strong in a group. Teehee...it'll be fun to see how they fare alone."

The massive door slides open, and they walk into the dimly lit interior.

"Well...looks like they want to trap us. Should be interesting." X says, as Sage activates a Foie orb in his hand to provide light. Nova walks over and activates a light switch. Looking around, they see a door with three lights on it, indicating switches that need to be pressed.  
A small opening is near the door, which Keiko wastes no time in exploring.

"Hey, Keiko...where are you going?" X asks, exasperated.

"I smell Ayame, and there may be a way to open this door. Stay there, I'll scout ahead." Keiko replies as she enters the vent.

As Keiko goes into the duct, she feels a light tickle on the back of her neck. She hears Sage's voice in her mind as she explores the passageway.

_"Keiko, we can keep in touch this way. Please...be careful."_

_How are you...? Oh, the telepathy thing. So I can just think something, and you'll hear it?_

_"Something like that, yes."_

_Ok. Well...I'll try to get that door open._

The moment Keiko says this, three doors open along the room. The Racaseal's voice can be heard on a loudspeaker.

"Hello, gentlemen. I am behind this door. If you wish to get to me, all you have to do is open it. But you have to split up, as one of the switches is behind each of these doors. Teehee...have fun."

"You know this is a trap, right?" Nova says.

"Yeah, but it'll be fun." X replies. "Race you to the switches!"

"Well...I don't see as we have any other choice. That door is too thick for me to break, and cutting through it would take forever." Sage says, sighing. "Let's go. I'll keep us telepathically linked, in case anything goes wrong. Be careful."

"Ok, sure. Race you there." X replies, as the three head to their separate doors.

"Sage...can you detect Ayame?" Nova asks, drawing his guns as he reaches his door.

X's expression changes from amusement to anger in a blink of an eye. "Yeah...is she alright?"

"Yes, faintly. And as far as I can tell, she's fine. Unconscious, but fine."

"Well...let's hurry." X states as he draws his swords and runs into his door. Sage and Nova go into their doors, and none are surprised as the doors shut behind them.

Sage links them telepathically, and they follow the paths. Sage runs into some Gillchics, who are dispatched easily with telekinetically aided gunfire. He makes it to a chasm, the walkway terminating in a gaping hole. A switch on the other side is tripped by his telekinesis, but the hole remains. He contacts the others. _"Well, I'm stuck. There's a big gap in the floor. I could levitate over, but there are technique-launching traps."_

_My path just opened up._ Nova replies. _I just have to deal with the...uh-oh. The four Baranz...give me a moment._

Through Nova's eyes, Sage sees the battle unfold. Nova activates another of his ARMs, the Dual Orbs throwing off the tracking of the Baranz' missiles. He takes out the two survivors with a combination of his Frozen Shooter and Yasminkov 9s, then continues onward. He reaches a pressure switch, then steps on it.

_Now what? Sage, is your path clear?_

_"No, not quite. X...what about you?"_

_A door just opened. Let me take out these floating things. _X replies, slashing a group of Canabins into small metal shards. X goes into the door, deactivating a barrier switch.

On Nova's side, the barrier around a large console deactivates. Nova kills the Sinow Beats that drop down, mercilessly eliminating them with gunfire. He activates the console, and the section of flooring in Sage's path appears, sliding from the end of the walkway.

_"Ok, my path is clear. What about you two?" _Sage asks.

_Mine's open._ X replies, his door opening as Sage takes out a Dubswitch and its accompanying Dubchichs.

_Mine too._ Nova states, after X annihilates a lone Baranz with Hyouretsuzan.

The three each enter a large room. In X's, around 60 Sinows teleport in. In Nova's poison gas floods the room as twenty Baranz appear. In Sage's a lone switch awaits, blocked by a blue-plated Hucast holding a bright gold Saber.

"Hello fleshie. Prepare to die!" Blue says as he lunges at Sage.

Nova and X begin to fight their opponents as Sage attempts to fend off Blue's furious assault.

Sage blasts away at Blue, his shots doing minimal damage. The telekinetic shield he brings up manages to barely deflect Blue's Saber, leaving Sage with a scorching wound on his shoulder.

X is surrounded by Sinows, dodging, ducking and slashing for all he's worth. _Sage...I have a bit of a problem._

_"Yeah, me too. That mag that manifested...it felt like it was blocking your power. Was it?_

_Yes. If it wasn't here...these things would be gone by now._

_"Alright...I'll see what I can do. Nova...how are you doing?"_

_Other than the 20 Baranz...I'm fine. And I have a few more tricks up my sleeve. Don't worry about me._

_"Ok. Good luck."_ Sage replies as he breaks the link. He stretches out with his powers, feeling a slight flicker of awareness as he touches Varaha. After a few moments, punctuated with taking several glancing blows from Blue, he figures out a plan.

_I need to use my full power for this._ he thinks as he connects with X's mind, linking to Varaha as well. He hurls a console at Blue, temporarily stunning him as he works on the seal.

_"X...the seal is too strong to telepathically break. However, I can loosen it a bit, and reduce the pain you feel when you use your powers. Just...make it quick."_

_Ok, go for it. _X replies, attemting to focus as he takes out a few Sinows.

Nova ducks behind a console, dodging a lethal barrage of missiles. _They want to play...I've got missiles too._ Nova withdraws another of his ARMS, the Multi-Rocket. An enormous harness appears, festooned with myriad rockets on either side. He steps out and unleashes a barrage of rockets at the Baranz, more materializing as he drains the weapon of its ammo. Enormous explosions ensue as the missiles shred through the nearest Baranz, eating through their armor effortlessly. The few survivors stagger about, their targetting sensors damaged by the shockwaves. They fire their payloads at the only movement they can detect, killing each other in a blaze of missiles.

_Well...that was easy. Sage, I'm through here. _Nova says as he steps into a small corridor. He follows it to a large door, where the two other paths seem to meet.

Sage makes contact with Varaha, beginning to tweak its perception as X summons his power. _If I can make it think he's not using his abilities..._ he thinks, as he reaches out to the mag's mind and begins to twist its perception. He feels a wave of pain through the link to X, but persists as Blue frees himself from the debris Sage buried him with.

On X's side of the room, he feels a weight lift from his shoulders. _Dammit. He can't undo the block. I can't use Perfect form. However...I can use a good portion more of my strength in Imperfect. Time to die, bots._

X conducts his conduit, his wing sprouting as he rises into the air. He charges a Demon Roar, feeling his agony subside as the power flows from him. Through the link with Sage, he feels Sage buckle in pain.

_Just hold out a bit longer, Sage..._ he thinks, as he finishes charging the Demon Roar.

"Hyper Demon Roar!" he cries, the black halo ripping into the ground and exploding, vaporizing the Sinows instantly.

_Heh...I couldn't use as much power as I thought. If I had more control over it, it wouldn't have exploded..._ he thinks as his conduit fades. He drops to the ground, resting for a second as he pops a Trifluid. As he recovers, he heads to the final door.

_Sage...I'm here. Good job._

Sage is unable to reply, his head feeling like it's about to explode. _I...used too much power. My head's on fire. I'll have to break the blocks if I want enough power to finish Blue. I hate doing this._

Sage releases the mental blocks he placed on his powers, feeling a white hot lance of agony stab through his head. He staggers, managing to barely push Blue away as he heads for the killing blow.

Blue rushes Sage, landing a series of powerful hits that batter Sage. As Blue stands over him, Sage withdraws a Trifluid and Trimate from his belt, crushing the capsules as the healing items restore his strength.

"You think humans are weak, useless. You think our emotions are pointless, our minds illogical. You are wrong." Sage says, getting to his feet, his battered body supported by the Striker he activates.

"I also think the noises you make when I kill you are delightful. It's your turn to scream, fleshbag." Blue says as he rushes as Sage, leading with his shield as he brings his sword around for a fatal strike.

Sage extends one hand, unleashing his full power as he grips Blue in an iron telekinetic hold.

"How...how are you...?" Blue asks, his saber and shield being crushed by the field as he is levitated into the air.

"I'm using my mind. Something you don't have, and never will be able to understand. Our unpredictibility, our free will...these are what empower us. We humans aren't as weak as you think..." Sage replies, a cold fury in his eyes.

The scream of tortured metal reverbrates through the air as Sage dismantles Blue completely, crushing and ripping the droid with his telekinesis. In moments, the killer android is reduced to a sparking pile of metal. Sage continues onward, meeting up with Nova and X.

They enter the large room, seeing Ayame trapped in the large metallic apparatus. X rushes towards her, only to be stopped in mid-stride by a cool metallic voice.

"You shall not reach her. Her power as a conduit is essential to the revival of the master." The Racaseal says as she steps out of the shadows.

"Ok, bot. Let her go, now." X replies, a look of rage on his face.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to do that." She says, drawing a blue Parasol as her black and grey plating crackles with energy.

"A Parasol? Seriously...you must be joking." Sage laughs, drawing his guns.

"My power is not to be underestimated." The droid replies, rushing at X and flattening him with a single blow. Sage and Nova react with shock, as they were unable to even see her move. X lies still, knocked unconscious by the blow, his body weakened by the stress of using his power.

Sage attempts to shield himself with a telekinetic barrier, but his over-taxed mental channels react in protest. He is taken out as easily as X, leaving only Nova standing.

"Well...that was interesting. Pretty good moves. They're both exhausted, but that's still quite a power you have." Nova states, drawing his guns. "I'm used to seeing things move at high speed. I can see you move...and I'm not all that impressed."

"Teehee. I'm glad you like watching me move. But if you impede my master's rebirth...you will die." The Racaseal says, rushing at Nova as he opens fire. She opens her Parasol, deflecting the gunfire. He switches weapons, firing a normal shot from the Frozen Shooter at her face as he backs away.

She blinks, intercepting the bolt with one hand. "You must do better than that..."

Nova laughs. "Ok, I will." Rolling to the side, he fires a freezing blast from his gun that hits the handle of her Parasol. She continues her charge as he pulls out a Yasminkov 7000, the spread of its shot being blocked by her open parasol. However...the frozen handle couldn't take the strain of the impact, shattering into shards of icy metal.

"You...broke my Parasol? You will pay, teehee." The droid says, flaring with a dark energy as she withdraws a pair of Twin Chakrams. The green glow of the photon blades creates a ghostly green reflection off the Racaseal's metal plating as she charges at Nova. He backs away, withdrawing his Yasminkov mechs as he taunts her.

"What type of moron would program an android to say 'Teehee'? It's stupid." Nova said, as the android unleashes a flurry of slashes. He backs away, aiming for the photon emitters with his guns. The android, intent on separating his head from his shoulders, makes no move to dodge as he pours gunfire at her. The bullets chip at her armor, weakening her as she is unable to hit him.

She flares with dark energy, the aura around her growing as her body weakens. Ayame's body begins to glow with the same aura, growing in intensity.

The droid looks back, in a near panic. "The master is not ready...her conduit cannot awaken now. I've stored enough power...she is expendable!" The android stops attacking Nova and rushes for Ayame. He sidesteps around, hitting her with a blast from his Frozen Shooter that throws off her leap.

She regains her footing, then turns to him. "Very well...you shall die first. "She charges, swinging her blades furiously. In the vent, Keiko's head peeps out. "Aha...there's the controls. Time to set Ayame free." she whispers to herself as she hops lightly down. She fiddles with the controls a bit as she feels the itching of her allergy die down.

Nova blocks the android's blades with his Flight Cutter, leaning back and propelling her into the air with a kick. He activates his Wild Bunch ARM, the Photon blade materializing as the jet boots allow him to uppercut her higher. At the apex of his jump, he withdraws his Ultimate ARM, the Final Arc. The massive laser cannon appears on his shoulder, and he fires a blue burst from it, the ring slamming into the droid and sending her plummetting to the ground. A blue dome of energy emanates from the blast, driving her into the ground and creating a crater. When the glare fades, her body is a smoking ruin.

Nova and Keiko manage to free Ayame, who slowly regains consciousness.

Keiko manages to transition back to her human form as Ayame awakens.

"Ms. Keiko...what happened?"

"You were captured, honey. But don't worry...we rescued you. You're safe now."

They revive X and Sage, who Ayame greets with big hugs.

"Uncle X! Mr. Sage! Yay!"

X smiles as his neice hangs from his neck. "I'm glad you're ok."

"Thanks for coming to rescue me, everyone. That bad android lady wanted to use me to 'revive her master' or something. She said Moon Atomizers and Reverser wouldn't work. She strapped me to that machine and I felt all funny. Then I woke up and you all were here."

"It's ok now, Ayame. We can go home." X replies, as the others turn to leave. An unearthly scream echoes through the complex as they turn to gaze at the smoking crater.

The android levitates from the crater, surrounded by black energy. Dark tendrils of power wrap around her as she is overcome by the dark energy in the room. She transforms into a large black, tentacled demon. Purple photons run around her body as she channels the power of darkness.

**"The master has awakened through me. Die, mortals!"**

"Too bad for you...an android body can't conduct that power. Prepare to face my ultimate technique. I've been working on this for a while..." Keiko replies, drawing her katana.

"Uh...Keiko...?" X says skeptically.

"Hush, I've got this." Keiko replies, going into a stance as light dances around her blade. She raises her katana over her head as she pours light energy into the blade. Leaping at the creature, light leaps from her blade, forming an arcane prison around the emanation of darkness.

"Hikari no Reiken!" she cries, supercharging the blade with light energy. She unleashes a furious barrage of slashes, each one leaving a gaping, light-streaming wound. She stabs her katana into the creature, then leaps backwards into the air, charging holy energy with both hands. "Light of the Angels, descend!" she screams, blasting an enormous shining beam of energy at the dark creature. It is enveloped in the beam and utterly destroyed, leaving only her sword lying on the ground. The arcane circle of blue light fades as she touches the ground, picking up her katana.

X, Sage, Ayame and Nova simply stare as she sheathes her blade, then transitions into cat form.

"I told you, I've been practicing. I've got all sorts of new techniques."

"That's...that's great." X replies, staring incoherently.

"C'mon, let's go get some food. I'm starving!" Keiko says, as the five telepipe back to Pioneer.

With the defeat of the Racaseal, the androids aboard the ship return to normal. JiEin is able to function again, and he celebrates by cooking a large victory meal at X and Leah's apartment.

As the impromtu party winds down, JiEin, Elly, Neifirst, Nova and Keiko leave. Sage is the last to go, after scanning Ayame's mind for any lasting damage. Ayame is asleep on the couch as Sage prepares to leave.

"Thank you for your help, Sage." Leah says, as X gets up to let Sage out.

"It was no problem. I haven't used my abilities as a Force in a while. I'm glad Ayame is safe." Sage replies.

"Yeah, you did pretty well for being rusty. It was nice to meet you." X says.

"Same here. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again. Keep an eye on Ayame for me."

"Always. See ya around."

As Sage leaves, X and Leah head to bed, after covering Ayame with a blanket.

"She's so cute when she sleeps. She's my redemption, you know..." X whispers, as he and Leah stand, watching over Ayame.

Leah punches him lightly on the shoulder. "Yeah, well...you did forfeit your head start cards. Time to pay for all those cracks you made earlier." she says, grinning evilly. The two head upstairs as Ayame slumbers peacefully.

In the middle of the night, a soft purple aura can be seen emanating from Ayame. She is in a nightmare, facing off against a man glowing with white light. Beside her are two teenage girls, one with red hair, one with purple. Otherwise, they are identical. The three combine their powers and attack the glowing figure, as Ayame wakes up. She gets a glass of water and goes back to sleep, as Pioneer sleeps, safe again.

End


End file.
